History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E5Disaster

* YouAreInCommandNow: Troi is forced into command on the bridge after Lt. Monroe is killed. Despite her rank as Lieutenant Commander, she has no idea what she's doing. Neither does she seem to understand the basics of how the ship works. As a medical professional, she was never trained to take command of the ship. She later takes the initiative in expanding her qualifications and passes a bridge officer exam, precisely because of what happened in this episode.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Troi gets a taste of the big chair and the pressure that goes along with it. She makes a big decision that could either save everyone aboard the ''Enterprise'' or doom them all. Though she stands by it in the face of Ro's criticism, she privately looks aware that she made a very big gamble and like she's thinking about the consequences. In the end, she freely admits that Ro could've just as easily been right.

* NarratingTheObvious: When the turbo lift suddenly starts falling, Picard yells, "We're falling!" There's really no reason for Picard to do this except to let the audience know why the camera went haywire and everyone dropped to the ground.

* YouAreInCommandNow: Troi is forced into command on the bridge after Lt. Monroe is killed. Despite her rank as Lieutenant Commander, she has no idea what she's doing. Neither does she seem to understand the basics of how the ship works.

Data and Riker venture out to the reach Engineering to see if they can restore power. When they encounter an impassable arc of electrical current, Data uses his body to short out the hazard. Riker detaches Data's head to finish the journey and plugs him into the ship's system. Data realizes that the warp core is about to explode and hastily guides Riker to make the proper connection so he can stop it. They succeed.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Ro for wanting to separate the ship. The writers admitted they sort of shortchanged her by having her in this position in what was her second appearance.

* ExplosiveInstrumentation: Scratch one RedShirt.

* CharacterDevelopment: A subtle example. Picard has some trouble interacting with his three young charges, but he's also come a long way from the first episode (where he thought he was wholly incapable of dealing with children). In particular, he doesn't throw a fit over there being children on TheBridge like he did with Wesley. The development then continues through the episode, as the shared danger makes Picard more comfortable with the kids at the end.

* CallBack: When Ro describes the "quantum filament" to Troi, the counselor asks if it's like the "cosmic string" from "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E10TheLoss The Loss]]," but she's told that they're nothing alike.

* FishOutOfWater: Nearly everyone is faced with a situation beyond their expertise and comfort zones: Troi, a psychologist, must make life-or-death command decisions; ChildHater Picard must comfort and guide three scared children; and ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf must... deliver a baby. Crusher and La Forge find themselves trapped in a cargo bay, away from their vitally important posts in Sickbay and Engineering respectively; at least La Forge is somewhat in his element, devising an outside-the-box engineering solution to his problem. Riker, usually most at his element in dealing with people by supporting and commanding them, is teamed solely with the member of the crew who has no need for emotional support and is left crawling around the ship's guts trying out technical solutions. Data, normally capable of doing almost everything himself, has to rely on Riker for locomotion and, moreover, has to give guidance and instruction to someone who's not entirely familiar with the subject.